Import EBook with miscellaneous files

streetfox · 10-06-2013, 09:23 AM

Hi there

how would you manage a book that is basically defined by a folder. Examples:

a) A few PDF's make together one book (lecture slides)
b) 1 PDF and 4 mp3's
c) no ebook format but two disk image's (iso) of a books additional material

Putting them into a *.7z or merging PDF's is not an option, as the PDF - for example - are logically not mergeable.

Any idea is greatly appreciated!

Cheers &

Sabardeyn · 10-06-2013, 03:24 PM

I don't think there is any particularly "graceful" way to handle this situation.

You could simply ZIP all of the files relevant to a particular title together. Perhaps adding a note in the Comments saying something like: This is not a standard ZIPped ebook, this is an archive of various media, in an assortment of file formats, which will need to be unzipped before use.

I suggest the comment because calibre itself will think it's a ZIPped ebook and, upon trying to open it, might report an error. Without the note you might no remember this is an archive instead of a book.

However, I know that some other users have found a way to use Symlinks (no idea what they are, just remember the term) to include/cross-reference other file types into calibre's database to a limited degree. I cannot advise you further as I don't have this issue with my library. Just wanted to let you know it might be a viable (and searchable!) option.

BetterRed · 10-06-2013, 03:39 PM

Keep the components where you have them, create an empty book and insert links to each of them in Comments or a comments like custom column - then you can at least click on them in Book details.

ETA : @Saberdeyn the OP has already rejected the .7z idea, which suggests to me he's read other posts on the issue, so I doubt that a ZIP or a RAR would be any more acceptable than a 7z.

Whilst the symlink idea has been suggested by I don't think too many tested it. I did and discovered, not to my surprise, that calibre will lose the symlink if the book is moved, and it will flag it as an error in the Library Check. Besides which they are awkward to create without 3rd party gadgets; and most Apfel OS/X users don't 'believe in them' because a fanboi at CNN said they were invented by Microsoft - they've been around since Gates and Jobs were in grade school.

BR

streetfox · 10-08-2013, 05:53 AM

Thanks, I hoped there may be a setting which would just switch from ebook-files to using a folder and ignoring all contents inside. If adding a link to the comments is the only alternative, I guess zipping files would be easier...sigh.

Did you make good experience with zipping the files then?

Or what do you do if you have multiple pdf's that belong to one book? Or additional files from a resource CD?

Regards

BetterRed · 10-08-2013, 06:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by streetfox

Thanks, I hoped there may be a setting which would just switch from ebook-files to using a folder and ignoring all contents inside. If adding a link to the comments is the only alternative, I guess zipping files would be easier...sigh.

Did you make good experience with zipping the files then?

Or what do you do if you have multiple pdf's that belong to one book? Or additional files from a resource CD?

Regards

@streetfox You could have just one link to the folder that contains the 'extra files'. Have a look at what I wrote earlier today in another thread https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=224295 posts 6 and 9.

IMO links are 'easier' than archives because you don't have to 'extract' a file to read it. Recent changes to the insert link dialogue in the Comments editor means you can just browse to the folder or file, select it in the normal way, and the editor takes care of the HTML etc etc.

BR

streetfox · 10-08-2013, 04:30 PM

Agree on that, but it defeats the purpose of calibre managing a book as a logical entity. Furthermore, the links are hardcoded as such they will break as soon as you move or rename directories, right? Which is a HUGE no go for me. Sorry to be so frank.

Maybe I am puristic, but I want to have one folder for one book. Like the internal structure of calibre. No matter how much and how strange the additional material may be. I buy statistics and coding books and they - almost always - have a bunch of strangely formatted items. To have all lecture slides being copied to the e-reader would be great to study paperless.

I want to trust calibres directory to contain everything ebook-related. So for me it is definately a shortcoming of a otherwise great software. A simple tickbox "manage folder" would suffice and I have to manually select one or more files that constitute "the book". To have that I see the best way are zip files.

BetterRed · 10-08-2013, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by streetfox

Agree on that, but it defeats the purpose of calibre managing a book as a logical entity. Furthermore, the links are hardcoded as such they will break as soon as you move or rename directories, right? Which is a HUGE no go for me. Sorry to be so frank.

The reason I keep the 'supplementary files' in a directory structure that's adjacent to and 'mirrors' the library directory structure is to reduce the temptation to rename or move those directories or files. In practice I've found that I've rarely needed to do that and when I have its always been allied to a change to the actual library folders. Because they are used to name file system objects I take particular care with author names and titles when I create a new book in calibre.

If I had a need to have the same files available in a place where I could rename and move them with impunity I would create a link to them in the other place - hard if on the same drive, symbolic/soft if on a different drive.

Quote:

Originally Posted by streetfox

Maybe I am puristic, but I want to have one folder for one book. Like the internal structure of calibre. No matter how much and how strange the additional material may be. I buy statistics and coding books and they - almost always - have a bunch of strangely formatted items. To have all lecture slides being copied to the e-reader would be great to study paperless.

I want to trust calibres directory to contain everything ebook-related. So for me it is definately a shortcoming of a otherwise great software. A simple tickbox "manage folder" would suffice and I have to manually select one or more files that constitute "the book". To have that I see the best way are zip files.

You do have the option of downloading the source and changing it to meet your needs, and if your minded you could give the revisions to Kovid for his consideration as an enhancement to the standard product.

BR

streetfox · 10-09-2013, 07:26 AM

Thanks. I am not the only one using the library on the PC. So the risk is just too high that things get out of sync.

If god sends me a bucket of time, I'll certainly try! Until then, many thanks again for your great support.

BetterRed · 10-09-2013, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by streetfox

Thanks. I am not the only one using the library on the PC. So the risk is just too high that things get out of sync.

So maybe you're not the purist you previously claimed to be

The above sounds like a good pragmatic reason to stay away from complexity

Good luck BR

streetfox · 10-22-2013, 03:14 AM

it works quite well with RAR-ing and then renaming it to *.7z !

However, a question now remains: Calibre wont accept a 7z with multiple PDFs in it or a subfolder (in the archive) with multiple PDFs...

anybody came across this problem?

BetterRed · 10-22-2013, 06:04 AM

I don't know that its a good idea to rename a RAR as a 7zip because calibre may still detect that its really a RAR and treat it as such. So I suggest you create a real .7z archive with something like 7zip or Peazip

You must then add it to an existing book (which may be empty) via the Add files to existing book records option in Add books, you can't drag'n drop it. When you do that you'll have to spin the file type selector to "All files" because it defaults to a setting that only includes 'regular ebook files'.

BR

theducks · 10-22-2013, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by streetfox

it works quite well with RAR-ing and then renaming it to *.7z !

However, a question now remains: Calibre wont accept a 7z with multiple PDFs in it or a subfolder (in the archive) with multiple PDFs...

anybody came across this problem?

Putting a RAR/Zip inside a RAR will defeat Calibres processing of the files and simply store them.
From then on, you will need to use the OS to do anything else.

Tap 'O' to easily open the containing folder with the OS

streetfox · 10-23-2013, 07:25 AM

i will try to use proper 7z and look if it makes a difference.

Thank you so much for the tipp with the zip in zip method. I am glad that only few files are that complicated...

However I am SO happy that calibre can now manage all additional book material, all my lecture slides. This is just a heck of a great software!!! Since 5 years there was chaos in my books and now it is cleanly stored and backed up!!!

Edit: BR... Calibre also automatically adds such zip in zip folders...! also the others, but then it deletes the other pdfs but one. magick :-)

10-06-2013, 09:23 AM	#1
streetfox Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2013 Device: iPad, Sony Ereader, Kindle	Import EBook with miscellaneous files Hi there how would you manage a book that is basically defined by a folder. Examples: a) A few PDF's make together one book (lecture slides) b) 1 PDF and 4 mp3's c) no ebook format but two disk image's (iso) of a books additional material Putting them into a *.7z or merging PDF's is not an option, as the PDF - for example - are logically not mergeable. Any idea is greatly appreciated! Cheers &

10-06-2013, 03:39 PM	#3
BetterRed null operator (he/him) Posts: 21,681 Karma: 29711016 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney Australia Device: none	Keep the components where you have them, create an empty book and insert links to each of them in Comments or a comments like custom column - then you can at least click on them in Book details. ETA : @Saberdeyn the OP has already rejected the .7z idea, which suggests to me he's read other posts on the issue, so I doubt that a ZIP or a RAR would be any more acceptable than a 7z. Whilst the symlink idea has been suggested by I don't think too many tested it. I did and discovered, not to my surprise, that calibre will lose the symlink if the book is moved, and it will flag it as an error in the Library Check. Besides which they are awkward to create without 3rd party gadgets; and most Apfel OS/X users don't 'believe in them' because a fanboi at CNN said they were invented by Microsoft - they've been around since Gates and Jobs were in grade school. BR Last edited by BetterRed; 10-06-2013 at 06:27 PM.

10-23-2013, 07:25 AM	#13
streetfox Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2013 Device: iPad, Sony Ereader, Kindle	i will try to use proper 7z and look if it makes a difference. Thank you so much for the tipp with the zip in zip method. I am glad that only few files are that complicated... However I am SO happy that calibre can now manage all additional book material, all my lecture slides. This is just a heck of a great software!!! Since 5 years there was chaos in my books and now it is cleanly stored and backed up!!! Edit: BR... Calibre also automatically adds such zip in zip folders...! also the others, but then it deletes the other pdfs but one. magick :-) Last edited by streetfox; 10-23-2013 at 07:27 AM.

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10-06-2013, 03:24 PM	#2
Sabardeyn Guru Posts: 644 Karma: 1242364 Join Date: May 2009 Location: The Right Coast Device: PC (Calibre), Nexus 7 2013 (Moon+ Pro), HTC HD2/Leo (Freda)	I don't think there is any particularly "graceful" way to handle this situation. You could simply ZIP all of the files relevant to a particular title together. Perhaps adding a note in the Comments saying something like: This is not a standard ZIPped ebook, this is an archive of various media, in an assortment of file formats, which will need to be unzipped before use. I suggest the comment because calibre itself will think it's a ZIPped ebook and, upon trying to open it, might report an error. Without the note you might no remember this is an archive instead of a book. However, I know that some other users have found a way to use Symlinks (no idea what they are, just remember the term) to include/cross-reference other file types into calibre's database to a limited degree. I cannot advise you further as I don't have this issue with my library. Just wanted to let you know it might be a viable (and searchable!) option.

10-08-2013, 05:53 AM	#4
streetfox Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2013 Device: iPad, Sony Ereader, Kindle	Thanks, I hoped there may be a setting which would just switch from ebook-files to using a folder and ignoring all contents inside. If adding a link to the comments is the only alternative, I guess zipping files would be easier...sigh. Did you make good experience with zipping the files then? Or what do you do if you have multiple pdf's that belong to one book? Or additional files from a resource CD? Regards

10-08-2013, 04:30 PM	#6
streetfox Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2013 Device: iPad, Sony Ereader, Kindle	Agree on that, but it defeats the purpose of calibre managing a book as a logical entity. Furthermore, the links are hardcoded as such they will break as soon as you move or rename directories, right? Which is a HUGE no go for me. Sorry to be so frank. Maybe I am puristic, but I want to have one folder for one book. Like the internal structure of calibre. No matter how much and how strange the additional material may be. I buy statistics and coding books and they - almost always - have a bunch of strangely formatted items. To have all lecture slides being copied to the e-reader would be great to study paperless. I want to trust calibres directory to contain everything ebook-related. So for me it is definately a shortcoming of a otherwise great software. A simple tickbox "manage folder" would suffice and I have to manually select one or more files that constitute "the book". To have that I see the best way are zip files.

10-09-2013, 07:26 AM	#8
streetfox Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2013 Device: iPad, Sony Ereader, Kindle	Thanks. I am not the only one using the library on the PC. So the risk is just too high that things get out of sync. If god sends me a bucket of time, I'll certainly try! Until then, many thanks again for your great support.

10-22-2013, 03:14 AM	#10
streetfox Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2013 Device: iPad, Sony Ereader, Kindle	it works quite well with RAR-ing and then renaming it to *.7z ! However, a question now remains: Calibre wont accept a 7z with multiple PDFs in it or a subfolder (in the archive) with multiple PDFs... anybody came across this problem?

10-22-2013, 06:04 AM	#11
BetterRed null operator (he/him) Posts: 21,681 Karma: 29711016 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney Australia Device: none	I don't know that its a good idea to rename a RAR as a 7zip because calibre may still detect that its really a RAR and treat it as such. So I suggest you create a real .7z archive with something like 7zip or Peazip You must then add it to an existing book (which may be empty) via the Add files to existing book records option in Add books, you can't drag'n drop it. When you do that you'll have to spin the file type selector to "All files" because it defaults to a setting that only includes 'regular ebook files'. BR

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